1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to digital content and related devices. More particularly, embodiments of the invention relate to the location and purchasing of digital media content.
2. The Relevant Technology
Digital media is becoming ubiquitous in our society. Many people have access to digital content in one form or another. Not surprisingly, there are many different types of devices that can play digital files. Personal audio players such as mp3 players can play digital audio content. Personal audio players are configured to receive digital media content from a variety of sources. These sources may provide a variety of digital media content to the personal audio players, including content provided via terrestrial RF broadcasts, satellite radio, Internet radio, podcasts, or streaming digital media content.
Since digital files are easily transferred, copyright owners are concerned about others misappropriating their rights on devices that can play digital content such as personal audio players. In fact, the rights of a user, the copyright owner, and the provider of digital content are all key concerns. As a result, content providers often provide content in a manner so as to control or limit the user's access to the digital media content consistent with the copyright owner's concerns.
While limiting a user's access to digital media under certain circumstances may have helped alleviate some copyright concerns, past approaches may have also interfered with a user's ability to obtain rights to the digital media content. For example, one approach to limiting a user's access to digital media may include providing the content in a streaming format in an attempt to prevent the user from recording the digital media content. While such an approach prevents the user from recording the digital media content, the approach also makes it more difficult to obtain rights to the digital media content.
In particular, if a user hears a piece of digital media content and wants to obtain rights to the digital media content, the user must then remember some identifying characteristic of the digital media content, locate the digital media content, and finally purchase rights to the digital media content. All of this is often done without regard to whether the user has rights to the digital media content already through a separate source.